Goodbye Graceful
by coldshowermondays
Summary: Thinking that there was no hope and nothing left, Lucy was about to end it all... And yet, she happens meets someone who shows her that there could be something more to life. Daryl/OC


**Author's Note:** Hello and welcome to my newest story! Due to my major obsession with zombies and infection type stuff I have decided to write a story taking place in the world of The Walking Dead! Words cannot describe how much I love this series (both the graphic novels and the show). I have been writing and re-writing this story like a mofo because I want to get it perfect... It takes a lot of time. I don't own anything except my original character(s).

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><p>It had been a long time since her brother left her.<p>

Henry had promised he would be back for her in a few hours. According to Lucy's digital watch, it was well past a few hours. Six if she wanted to be technical about it…

Six horrible hours of being trapped in the trunk of their shitty Buick.

It was insane to think of how quickly this mess had transpired. A couple weeks ago Lucy was just a recent college graduate living in bustling New York City. She would get dressed up with her friends to go to parties, go jogging through Central Park, and bitch about how her up-tight parents were pushing for her to do something more meaningful with her Ivy League education. A couple weeks ago her biggest problem was what pair of heels she should wear to work.

The world was so different now.

Now, she was trapped in a dark, hot trunk abandoned on a highway somewhere near Atlanta, Georgia waiting for an older brother she was beginning to believe would never come back.

Lucy tried to choke back her tears, but failed miserably. Sobs escaped her throat as she tightly hugged her knees to her chest, allowing her tears to fall.

It was Henry's idea to come to Atlanta in the first place. Before everyone had turned into flesh-eating monsters the two were headed down south for a concert. They were about halfway to Atlanta when they first heard about the walkers. Of course Lucy had thought it was a joke. Zombies? That crap was reserved for horror movies.

How wrong she turned out to be.

They saw their first walker at a small rural gas station. Henry had pulled the car over and began filling up. At the time, neither one of them believed the ridiculous government messages blaring over every radio station. Lucy followed Henry into the gas station when Henry had finished, hoping she could find some decent candy in the crummy gas station. When they got inside they were shocked to find the attendant crawling on the floor, his legs bent at awkward angles and chunks of flesh missing from his face.

All Lucy could do was scream. It was Henry that had killed the thing. She could still hear the sound of the metal baseball bat bashing into the creature's skull. It was horrible.

After the initial shock had diminished (for Henry, at least), they ran back to the safety of their vehicle and frantically tried to tune in to a radio station. It seemed there was hope after all: a refugee center had been started and was located in Atlanta. Military protection, food, and shelter were all provided. With both of them feeling somewhat assured, Henry had put the car in gear and they took off toward their destination.

'_What a bust that had been,' _Lucy thought bitterly. Apparently, they were late in their search for refuge. Abandoned cars were left all over the highway leading into Atlanta. Bodies were strewn everywhere. It seemed as though all of the people needing help and came and went. There wasn't anything to save them.

Not knowing what else to do, Lucy and Henry had stayed seated in the car. They were fine for about an hour or two, but, with every passing minute, walkers started arriving. The only word Lucy could think of to describe it was a swarm. The living dead came from one direction and slowly moved toward the city. Lucy and Henry stayed rooted in their vehicle, hoping the zombies would pass through quickly. The walkers, though stupid, still had the audacity to look into the abandoned cars in search of food. Unfortunately for the siblings, one stray walker noticed them sitting.

That was when Henry decided to put Lucy in the trunk.

"If they don't see you, they won't try to get in," he had said as he pulled the back seat down. He shoved their limited equipment inside and began trying to get Lucy inside as well.

"What about you?" Lucy questioned tearfully.

"I'm going to try and make a break for it and get into that empty truck a few cars back." Henry's intent to leave her suddenly infuriated Lucy. She reached out and gave his arm a death-grip.

"No," she said forcefully. "You are _not_ leaving me." Henry was all she had left. There was no way in hell she was going to let him run out of the confines of their car into danger.

Henry pried her hand off of his arm and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Lucy, I'll be fine," he assured. "We'll wait it out a couple of hours for the horde of walkers to clear out. Then, I _promise_ I'll come back to get you."

Lucy nodded begrudgingly. Her brother had always been very logical and protective; he knew what was best. She bit her trembling lip as tears threatened to spill. Still reluctant, Lucy obliged her brother's request and crawled into the trunk.

She saw Henry give her one of his crooked smiles before he put the car seat back in its place. Then she saw nothing but black.

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><p>Lucy slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by the familiar darkness.<p>

She felt like shit. Her eyes were dry and puffy-feeling and her head was pounding. No doubt from all of her crying. Lucy opened her mouth only to croak out some unintelligible words. Her throat felt bone dry. She felt around the pitch black trunk for one of the water bottles Henry had shoved in with her. She drank it greedily, relishing the relief the liquid was giving her parched mouth.

Having her temporary fill of water, Lucy capped the bottle and checked her watch once again. The glaring blue numbers told her that she had fallen asleep for about an hour.

Henry still hadn't come back for her.

Lucy maneuvered to her side. She couldn't wait for Henry anymore. She needed to get out of the damn trunk. Groping blindly in the dark, Lucy's hands found the emergency latch for the trunk.

She held her breath as the door slowly popped open. She was terrified of what waited for her outside. It could be anything.

Although nothing was out there waiting for her, the highway was just as littered with bodies as it had been before, if not, more. Lucy grimaced in disgust as she noticed a dead, mutilated body on the hood of a car nearby. Crows had landed on it and were feasting on the decaying flesh.

Lucy gave herself a minute or two to collect herself before she rolled out of the trunk in an unattractive manor. Broken glass crunched under the pressure of her boots as her feet meet the ground. Struggling from being cramped up for so long, Lucy stood up and stretched. God, her muscles ached…

Lucy turned back to the trunk and pulled out an army green knapsack. She didn't have much in her pack, only necessities: a few changes of clothes, water, items for personal hygiene, and some food she and Henry had managed to scrounge up.

Reaching further back into the trunk, Lucy pulled out their limited collection of weapons. Her brother had two pistols in a holster and Lucy had found a hunting boy and arrows. Unfortunately, Lucy had no clue how to properly use a hunting bow and only recently learned how to take the safety off of the pistols. In other words, she was practically useless in the ways of self-defense.

Lucy shoved the guns into their holsters and put the bow across her back. She had more important things to do rather than pitying herself. She needed to find her brother.

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><p><strong>Another Author's Note: <strong> I know it's a short start, but I just wanted to get this uploaded asap. And don't worry... The main cast will be in the next chapter.

Reviews are appreciated. Constructive criticism is also appreciated even though I might not want to hear it, ha ha ha.


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